Alone But Not Lonely

The Automat
By Edward Hopper - 1927

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Listen to this truth while you view the art by clicking the play button

I remember well the automat at the hospital I worked at. They are a self-serve--open 24 hours a day-- place to get a quick cup of coffee and sandwich out of a vending machine. It was often the only place open in the wee hours of the morning for something to eat. Bleary eyed doctors and nurses darted in and out while worried family members hung out.

Edward Hopper in his paintings specializes in showing the effects of isolation in society. While it's true man was created in families for life in fellowship with others, it's also true that God made men and women first and foremost for Himself. So when we find ourselves alone we need not be lonely. We can focus our mind and heart on God and talk to Him just as though He was there physically.

Talking with God is called prayer and it's something we can do anywhere and at any time. For God is always there with us and ready to talk and listen when we are. It's a privilege that we often miss fiddling with cell phones and reading worthless tabloids or magazines.

So often other people are a great distraction from spending time with God. But being alone in an automat can become a date with God and a time to talk things out with him with noone the wiser except you.